Edward Fairfax
Edward Fairfax (?1580 - 27 January 1635) was an English poet and translator, most famous as the translator of TorquatoTasso's Gerusalemme Liberata. Life Overview Fairfax, a natural son of Sir Thomas Fairfax, lived at Fuystone, near Knaresborough, in peace and prosperity. His translation of Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered, on which his fame is founded, is a masterpiece, 1 of the comparatively few translations which in themselves are literature. It was highly praised by Dryden and Waller. The 1st edition appeared in 1600, and was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth. Fairfax also wrote a treatise on demonology, in which he was a devout believer.John William Cousin, "Fairfax, Edward," A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature, 1910, 133. Web, Jan. 11, 2018. Youth and family Fairfax was a son of Sir Thomas Fairfax of Denton, Yorkshire. Douglas says that he was born to Sir Thomas "by Dorothy, his wife, daughter of George Gale of Ascham Grange, Esq.;" but in the Visitation Pedigree, 1585, there is no Edward among the children of Sir Thomas Fairfax by Dorothy (Gale); and Roger Dodsworth, in Sancti et Scriptores Ebor., states that he was a natural son. Thoresby, in Ducatus Leodiensis, places Edward and his brother, Sir Charles, among the sons of Sir Thomas Fairfax, but connects them only with a line of dots, "thus intimating that there was something peculiar" (Hunter, Chorus Vatum). Edward was born at Leeds in "an ancient house near the church." He married a sister of Walter Laycock of Copmanthorpe, Yorkshire, chief aulnager of the northern counties, and several of his children were born in Leeds.Bullen, 131. Adult life In 1600 he published Godfrey of Bulloigne; or, The recoverie of Jerusalem; done into English heroicall verse, fol., the first complete translation of Tasso's ‘Gerusalemme Liberata.’ The work is dedicated to Queen Elizabeth in 4 6-line stanzas, and the dedication is followed by a prose "Allegorie of the Poem." A 2nd edition appeared in 1624, fol., and in 1817 the work was edited by S.W. Singer, 2 volumes. 8vo. Fairfax lived a studious and retired life. On the authority of Brian Fairfax we learn that "he was very serviceable to his brother, Lord Fairfax, in the education of his children, the government of his family, and all his affairs." He resided at Newhall, in the parish of Fewston, Yorkshire. In 1621, 2 of his daughters were supposed to be bewitched, and Fairfax drew up a full account of the affair. This curious document is printed in Philobiblon Miscellanies, vol. v., under the title of "A Discourse of Witchcraft: As it was acted in the Family of Mr. Edward Fairfax of Fuystone in the County of York, in the year 1621. From the Original Copy written with his own hand." In the preface to the Discourse Fairfax describes himself as ‘neither a fantastic Puritan nor superstitious Papist, but so settled in conscience that I have the sure ground of God's word to warrant all I believe, and the commendable ordinances of our English Church to approve all I practise." The domestic troubles attributed to the machinations of the reputed witches continued until April 1623. Fairfax was buried at Fuiston on 27 January 1635 (Hunter, Chorus Vatum). His widow was buried on 21 January 1648. Writing ''Jerusalem Delivered'' Fairfax's translation of Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered, on which his fame is founded, is a masterpiece, 1 of the comparatively few translations which in themselves are literature. Richard Carew had previously translated a portion of the poem, and Fairfax made full use of his predecessor's labours. But in refinement and poetic instinct Fairfax far surpasses not only Carew but the translators of later times. The Encyclopædia Britannica says that "Godfrey of Bulloigne; or, The recoverie of Jerusalem ... influenced the development of the heroic couplet. It also influenced the poets Edmund Waller and John Milton, whose tonal harmonies Fairfax often anticipated." Brian Fairfax states that "King James valued it above all other English poetry," and that it solaced Charles I in the time of his confinement. Dryden in the preface to his Fables says: "Many besides myself have heard our famous Waller own that he derived the harmony of his number from 'Godfrey of Bulloigne,' which was turned into English by Mr. Fairfax." On the other hand, Ben Jonson, in one of his conversations with William DDrummond, gave it as his opinion that the translation was "not well done." Eclogues :Among Fairfax’ other works were 12 eclogues, of which only two and most of a third are known to have survived. The finest, “Hermes and Lycaon,” is a singing match between worldly and spiritual lovers.Edward Fairfax, Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. Web, Aug. 4, 2014. Brian Fairfax says that the eclogues were written in the 1st year of James I, and lay neglected in the author's study for 10 years, when a transcript was made for the Duke of Richmond and Lennox. This transcript was burnt in the banqueting house at Whitehall. At a later date the poet's son William rediscovered the original among the loose papers in his father's library, but no complete manuscript copy is now known.Bullen, 132. Mrs. Cooper, in The Muses' Library, 1737, printed the 4th eclogue, "Eglon and Alexis," from a manuscript (containing the 12 pieces) in the possession of the Fairfax family. Another eclogue has been printed in Philobiblon Miscellanies, vol. xii. It is highly probable that a poem in Addit. MS. 11743, ff. 5–6 (which manuscript contains many papers relating to the Fairfax family), entitled ‘Ecloga Octava. Ida and Opilio,’ is one of the lost eclogues. Miscellaneous Brian Fairfax mentions that several letters, ‘which deserve to be published,’ passed between Fairfax and the Romish priest, John Dorrell Darrel, then a prisoner in York Castle, on the subject of the pope's supremacy, infallibility, idolatry, &c. Dodsworth, who describes Fairfax as "a singular scholar in all kind of learning,’ states that he wrote a History of Edward the Black Prince, which was not published. :Among Fairfax’ other works were 12 eclogues, of which only two and most of a third are known to have survived. The finest, “Hermes and Lycaon,” is a singing match between worldly and spiritual lovers.Edward Fairfax, Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. Web, Aug. 4, 2014. Publications Translated *Torquato Tasso, Godfrey of Bulloigne; or, Jerusalem Delivered. London: 1600 **''Godfrey of Bulloigne; or, The recovery of Jerusalem''(with introduction by Leigh Hunt). (2 volumes), London: Charles Knight, 1844. (1 volume), New York: Putnam, 1851. Volume I, Volume II **''Godfrey of Bulloigne; or Jerusalem Delivered'' (edited by Robert Ariss Willmot]). London: Routledge, 1858 **''Jerusalem Delivered'' (edited by Henry Morley). London & New York: Colonial Press, 1901. See also *List of British poets References * . Wikisource, Web, Jan. 11, 2018. Notes External links ;Poems *Edward Fairfax (1580ca.-1635) info & 4 poems at English Poetry, 1579-1830 ;Books * ;About *Edward Fairfax in the Encyclopædia Britannica *Fairfax, Edward in the [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition|1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica]] *''Jerusalem Delivered'' at the Complete Review * Fairfax, Edward Category:1580s births Category:1635 deaths Category:English translators Edward Category:Italian–English translators Category:People from Harrogate (district) Category:People of the Tudor period Category:People of the Stuart period Category:16th-century English people Category:17th-century English people Category:17th-century English writers Category:17th-century translators Category:Translators to English